


Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

by speccygeekgrrl



Series: MST3K Alternate Universes [13]
Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, soulmate-identifying spectrum vision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 20:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13279113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speccygeekgrrl/pseuds/speccygeekgrrl
Summary: Nothing will ever look the same, and Max is thrilled about it.





	Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

**Author's Note:**

> Alex showed me a master list of AU master posts. This is the most dangerous thing I have ever been shown because I am a total fucking sucker for AUs. Especially soulmate AUs, omg. My usual soulmark setup doesn't work so well with these two, but this was a variant I really liked.
> 
> Soulmate AU in which each half of the pair can either see color but no shading or only black and white, and they both get integrated vision after their first kiss.

It wasn't a big deal that he was colorblind. Half the world was born color-insensitive, it wasn't like he was at all alone in it. Of course, the other half was shade-insensitive. The only people with perfect vision were those who'd found their soulmates. 

Max held out hope that he'd find the person he was meant to be with, but he wasn't the type to put himself out there, really, so he knew his chances were slim. Some people would kiss anyone in search for their person, but he'd only ever tried with a handful of people. He told himself that if he never met them, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. His parents both had only had monochrome vision their whole lives. 

Still, he couldn't help but feel wistful every time one of his color-sighted friends pointed out a rainbow and all he saw were grey skies. All cats were grey. All skin tones were shades of grey. As far as he knew, he had dark grey eyes and hair that had once been darker but had gotten lighter lately. 

Kinga had spectrum vision, as had both her parents, too. He never asked her about colors, his own or hers or anyone else's. The only time color mattered was in the lab, which was why she did all the chemical stuff and he did the hardware stuff. They made a good team, even if she'd scoff at the idea that they were a team. She was in charge, in her mind, and Max wasn't going to argue about it, but almost everything they did required both of them to do right.

It mattered less when they got to the moon. The moon was as monochrome as it got; the only color there was what they brought with them. They were busy all the time, it seemed. Really, they weren't working much more than they had been on Earth, but there was no one to talk to but each other. Synthia was weird and had a lot of speech glitches, the Skeleton Crew were creepily insular with each other and not very communicative with Kinga and Max, with a couple of exceptions, and Kinga was too extroverted to be content with spending her time alone. Max wasn't that extroverted, but he couldn't begrudge her his free time. Even if she was mean, he was crazy about her, and he'd done dumber things for her than put up with listening to her crazy theories about whatever show they'd been binging.

The latest thing they'd been working on was a lunar rover. Kinga was very comfort-conscious on top of being image-conscious, so what they ended up with was something that looked like a sporty coupe on treads with plush seats and a media console in the dash. They'd sent a couple Skeleton Crew out in it to make sure it was airtight and the oxygen recyclers worked properly, just around the compound, and when it had been tested to Kinga's satisfaction she announced that they were going to drive to the near side of the moon and take a look at Earth before the inevitable nuclear war started by the dipshits running the planet destroyed the view.

It was full light out when they left the compound, which meant they'd have a well-lit Earth to gaze at. Max had packed snacks, Kinga's favorite cinnamon cookies and triple chocolate cookies for himself. She refused to let him drive, so he spent the slow drive around the moon playing with the music instead. She'd hum a line or two and then he had a minute to find the song in the database. He'd only missed two of them by the time they came to a stop. Kinga folded her arms on the dashboard and rested her head on them, staring at the planet. Max looked at the Earth but quickly shifted his focus to Kinga when he realized he could get away with it while she wasn't paying attention to him.

"It's beautiful," she said distractedly. "And tragic. Tragic how screwed our species is."

"You know, you could invent something to help," he said. "Put that mad science talent to better use."

"Oh, please, like I could really do anything. No. Safer to just be up here away from all the chaos."

"We can't stay up here forever."

"Why not?"

"I'm pretty sure you'd lose your mind and try to kill me after a couple decades," he said with a laugh. She gave him a narrow-eyed look and then smirked.

"I think you're being very generous by estimating in decades and not years."

"So what you're saying is that I _should_ run screaming?"

"You've got no place to run to right now," she pointed out. "Maybe save it for when we get back to base."

"Nah, not much point in it then either. Might as well just resign myself to my fate."

"That's very passive of you."

"Eh, I like to think of it as energy-saving rather than passive."

"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes and looked back at the planet. "Hard to get you to take initiative."

"I have a low dexterity modifier," he joked. "I fail a lot of rolls." 

"Fucking dork," she said, almost fondly. 

"Yup." He watched her for another moment, but... hell, she'd practically dared him to do something. Maybe he could at least surprise her out of thinking he was so predictable. "Kinga?"

"Mm?" She sat up when he touched her back, looking at him quizzically in the beat it took him to lean in and kiss her softly. For a second she froze, and then she made an indignant sound and pushed him away. "What--" She paused suddenly, brow furrowing.

He couldn't answer-- he could barely remember to breathe. The moon was still grey, but Kinga was vividly, gloriously colorful. Earth had gone from shades of grey to a brilliance he never could have imagined before. He reached out to brush his fingers against her hair. "What color is this?"

"Red," she whispered, and he smiled.

"Red is nice. What about that?" He nodded toward the planet.

"Blue and green... brown. Oh, I've never seen the _depth_ before..." Space was still just as pure black as it had been a minute ago, but everything else Max could see was dizzyingly bright now. 

He'd thought his crush on her was pathetic, that she was beyond his reach, that there was no chance she'd ever love him back. He'd never been so happy to be proven wrong. "Kinga?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face him, wide-eyed, and he leaned a little closer.

"What color are your eyes?"

"Green... they're green." She swayed toward him slightly, and he smiled.

"Can I kiss you again?" She nodded and met him halfway, reaching up to tangle her hand in his curls when their lips met.

Red. And green. He'd bother the hell out of her asking what color things were later. Right now, he knew everything that was important now that he could see perfectly.


End file.
